The Best Day For Thanksgiving Travel, According to Google

Use map, flight, and search data to make your Thanksgiving holiday less stressful. Google also says that Wednesday road rage is the worst and we're all searching for "ham shops."

It’s that time of year again: holiday cheer, frustrating travel horror stories, and all. After combing through data from more than a billion users and hundreds of thousands of flight searches, Google Maps and Google Flights have pulled together the ultimate travel guide, in order to try and keep the road (and airport) rage at bay. The first tip: Don’t travel on Wednesday before Thanksgiving if you can possibly help it. In most cities, traffic is at its worst between 3 and 5 p.m. on November 25. Expect standstill crowds at the airport too, as more than 20 percent of flights searched leave on that Wednesday. Instead, try flying on Thanksgiving Day itself, which Google Flights says can save you an average of $40 per trip compared to leaving on Wednesday. For drivers who absolutely have to hit the highway on Wednesday, plan to leave before 2 p.m. or after 7 p.m. to avoid the midday rush.

While most people will be flying through Google Flights's top three trending cities—New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago—some are dreaming of warmer weather. Using the site, which lets users hunt for specific flights and hotels or find inspiration through broader “Flights to Europe” or “Flights to Asia” options, travelers searched for Thanksgiving beach getaways 30 percent more than usual. Most are headed to Kahului, Hawaii; Santa Ana, California; and Fort Meyers, Florida. But for those who would rather ditch the turkey and stuffing entirely, Casablanca, Osaka, and Bangkok topped the list of unusually popular international destinations.

Drivers, after fighting the crowds on the roads, should also be prepared to handle the hordes in the supermarket. Google Maps users searched the most for ham shops, pie shops, and liquor stores on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Not surprising for those daunted by cooking a turkey with all the trimmings, buffets were the most searched term on Thanksgiving itself.

Heading back home, as Waze also found in a recent study, Sunday will be the best chance to avoid traffic. Consider traveling on Friday, as well. While the masses are expected at electronic stores and outlet malls for Black Friday deals, traffic surprisingly doesn’t spike. Looks like the Thanksgiving food coma is still in full effect.